


Reflection

by Amelita



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-15 08:20:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 22,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2222100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amelita/pseuds/Amelita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beauty is in the eye of the beholder</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Asami opened the door quietly and slipped inside, toeing his shoes off.

He smiled, inhaling deeply at the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen. Listening to the sweet voice that was humming off key. He paused; just enjoying the moment, before setting down his briefcase and loosening his tie. He finally had everything he ever wanted. He was the CEO and owner of Sion industries, one of the largest corporate conglomerates in the world. And he had the most perfect, most wonderful lover in the whole world. All his other accomplishments paled in comparison to that one. All his other joys empty and hollow without the beautiful boy in his kitchen. His home was nothing like the cold empty house of his childhood; it was filled with warmth and laughter and love. Home was a word he had never understood until he met his lover. But now he knew. It wasn't a place. It was a person. His home was wherever Akihito was.

Asami Ryuichi leaned back against the wall and watched the love of his life putter around the kitchen, checking different pots on the stoves, Occasionally testing them and adding this or that. His beautiful brow frowning every now and then in concentration. It was a labor of love. He wanted it to be perfect.

For him. 

Asami’s heart filled with love and desire for the sweet, tenderhearted boy. He had met him three years ago. The poor shy caterer had tripped and spilled tea all over the CEO’s Armani suit. He had been a different person in those days. Cold. Ruthless. Miserable. But something in Asami’s dark, frozen heart had thawed the moment he looked into down those apologetic, tearfilled blue eyes. He had taken him by the hand and pulled him up off his knees. And he hadn’t let it go of that hand. 

He had pursued him ruthlessly, relentlessly. The poor boy had been utterly confused. Convinced that Asami was toying with him. Making fun of him.

That was his lover’s one flaw. He was his own worst critic. Asami still wasn’t sure he knew how very much he was loved. Just as he was.

Overweight, with slightly frizzy hair and a snaggletooth. Those imperfections only made Asami love him more. He was adorable and kind and funny and vulnerable and honest. And yet somehow he always let the reflection in the mirror override all that. As if it was somehow more important. It wasn’t. Not to Asami. He loved Akihito more than life. He was the light to his dark. The soft to his hard. The warmth to his cold.

He was the soft place to land after a hard days work. A place to lay his head. Akihito was his everything. His one true joy. 

Asami walked quietly up behind him and nuzzled the soft skin of his neck. Enjoying that unique scent that was entirely his. Aki jumped and then turned slowly in Asami’s strong arms. His round cheeks bloomed in a lovely blushing smile. Asami grinned down at him. He loved that quirky, lopsided grin. 

“Welcome home.” He said shyly and Asami grinned even wider. Three years they had lived together and he could still fluster his young lover. He still hadn’t lost his touch. 

“It smells delicious, I can’t wait”

Akihito flushed a little pinker at the praise. He was so fucking cute Asami couldn’t stand it and his thumbs traced the dimples in those adorable cheeks. Aki loved to cook. And Asami loved to eat his cooking. But there was definitely one thing he loved more than Aki’s cooking. And that was what he was hungry for right now. 

He loved him so fucking much and had missed him all day long. But Asami wasn’t good at talking and Akihito was even more terrible at listening. So he decided to show him just how much he was wanted. He grasped Akihito’s wrists in one strong and spun him around, pinning his hands over his head. With the other hand he unzipped his jeans and brought them down over his lovely thick white thighs. He grabbed that plush round ass while he plundered the boy’s lush mouth. His big bottom was round and it felt sublime in Asami's hands: warm, chubby and soft. Asami groaned with his desire to be inside that gorgeous ass. But first....he spun Aki around and pushed him over the counter top; roughly pulling down the elastic waistband of his boxers. Asami pulled them down to his knees and smiled at the way that plump butt pressed out like it was asking for it. He gave it about two dozen hard smacks with an open palm, watching the flesh jiggle deliciously under his hands. He bent down and bit it as Akihito moaned helplessly.

Asami allowed him to turn off the burners and oven before roughly dragging him into the bedroom, throwing him down on the bed. He lay doggy style, and Asami mounted him without preliminaries. He felt soft, warm, and thick. With other lovers, Asami always felt turned off by their sharp elbows and ribs. Hated the way their hipbones poked against him as he thrusted. With Akihito, there was just softness and warmth. He could be rough as he wanted. Asami laid his head down peacefully in the soft pillow of Akihito’s pale shoulder, biting it gently as his lover moaned.

It was everything Asami had ever wanted. Perfect. Akihito was perfect, just as he was.


	2. Chapter 2

Akihito tugged at his tie uncomfortably. His suit was a little too small. The waist band pinched his round tummy painfully and the shoulders were too tight. He was much too embarrassed to say anything though. Asami had bought it for him six months ago. It had fit perfectly. Then.

But he had put on a few pounds. Or Ten.

He sighed and dropped his shoulder in defeat. He wanted to cry. Asami was so perfect. He was tall and muscular and strong. His body was like something out of a Calvin Klein catalogue. He was smart and ambitious and rich. He was funny and intelligent and could have had his pick of anyone. Male or female. Akihito loved him desperately. But he still didn’t understand what Asami saw in him. Even after all this time, he just didn’t get it. He had nothing to offer Asami. He looked at his reflection with an unhappy expression on his round face. Sadness in his lovely clear blue eyes.

He trudged out of the bathroom and hopelessly watched Asami getting ready. He, of course, looked amazing in his suit. It fit him perfectly while Aki’s bulged out awkwardly. Just once Akihito would have loved to stand next to him and be proud of the way they looked together. But he was perfectly aware of the laughs and titters that resulted from the sight of his pudgy body next to Asami’s. Which is why he had been dreading this night for so long…..

“Do I have to go?” He didn’t mean to sound so plaintive, but it came out that way because he was feeling so insecure and emotional.

Asami’s sharp golden eyes fixed on him and Akihito shrank back at the irritation and anger he saw in them.

“Damn it Akihito. Three years we’ve been together and you haven’t come to a single company function with me. Tonight is important to me. I want you at my side. Is that too much to ask?”

Akihito shook his head, his lashes downcast from the shame. Asami never asked anything of him and he couldn’t even do this one thing for him without complaining. He pasted a fake smile on his lips and followed Asami out the door.

-

As the night dragged on, Akihito only felt worse and worse. He had popped the seam on the back of his coat, so he stayed seated as much as possible to hide it. He smiled and shook hands with all of Asami’s colleagues. Handsome men and beautiful women. Each more accomplished and amazing than the next. Polished and witty and successful.

Akihito felt like an utter troll in comparison. The surprise in their eyes driving nails into his heart each time Asami introduced him as his partner. Finally Asami was drawn away by his assistant and mercifully, Akihito was left alone, standing by the drinks. He downed a glass of the spiked punch and then another for good measure, hoping it would ease his nerves. He spilled some on his white shirt and looked down miserably at the stain. Just perfect. Now he looked like even more of a slob.

A tall gorgeous man walked up and stood next to Akihito, looking down his nose at the boy. His name was Sudoh. Akihito remembered that because of his model like looks and the fact that he had actually looked angry when Asami introduced Akihito to him. Insulted even. Akihito began to inch away. Whatever the beautiful man was going to say, he didn’t want to hear it. He already knew he wasn’t good enough for Asami. Tonight, watching the circles in which Asami moved, had driven that home perfectly. All those glittering, accomplished people around him. Akihito was just someone who wore aprons and cooked his meals. They weren’t even in the same league…..

“They are laughing at him.”

Akihito’s blue eyes went wide to the table of men that Sudoh nodded towards. One of them pointing at Ryuichi’s back. He could see the snickers and cruel amusement in their eyes. A hot flash of indignant anger filled Aki’s chest on Asami’s behalf. His chubby fingers curling into fists. How dare they? 

Sudoh smiled viciously at Akihito, distracting him, “And do you know WHY they are laughing at Asami-san?”

Akihito shook his head in angry confusion. 

“You.”

He drew a deep gasping breath inward. A sharp stabbing pain driving into his chest as he realized. Sudoh slowly turned the boy to face his own reflection in the mirrored glass on the wall. His own pudgy, dumpy reflection.

“They are laughing at him because of you Akihito. Because why would a man like that choose someone like you?”

Akihito’s wounded blue eyes sought out the man he loved more that life itself. He was tall and elegant. So handsome. Broad muscular shoulders filling out his suit that was perfectly tailored to his form. His perfect, God-like body. His rock hard abs. His chiselled features. He was by far, the most handsome man in the room. And Akihito felt by far, the ugliest. 

Sudoh continued to drive that knife farther into Akihito’s heart, twisting it as he went, “The ugly duckling and the swan. Perhaps its a passing fancy. Or perhaps he does care for you. Either way, Akihito, your presence only harms Asami-san, it only drags him down. He deserves to be with someone who can help advance his career. Someone who can stand at his side proudly. Someone who is his equal.”

“Don’t you agree?” Sudoh grasped Akihito by the chin and tore his gaze away from Asami, forcing him to face his own reflection again. The boy he saw in the mirror was in no way Asami’s equal. He was short and squat. His suit stretched over his round belly. Sudoh’s fingers digging into his round face. His dirty blond hair was frizzy and his forehead shone with sweat. He was hideous. Ridiculous.

And his very existence made Asami look ridiculous too. 

“You’d be doing him a favor if you just disappeared. Don’t make Asami end it with you. He won’t be able to do it out of pity. The longer you stay with him the more you will hurt him. Burden him. You don’t want to do that do you?”

Akihito shook his head, dropping his eyes to the floor in shame.

Sudoh drew back in satisfaction at the look of utter devastation on Akihito’s sweet face, “No. I didn’t think so.”

He held out a card. A black American Express. Aki looked up at him in confusion, his eyes clouded with tears.

“I care about Asami too. And I don’t want to see him get hurt. Take it and disappear. Go make a new life for yourself far away from Asami. ”

Akihito hesitated and Sudoh pressed it into his hand roughly. “Its for the best Akihito. You know that.”

He did. But he didn’t want to take the money. Not from a man like Sudoh. And yet..he had nothing. He was essentially Asami’s wife. He lived with him, took care of the house and the cooking. And Asami had always taken care of the finances. Aki didn’t even have his own bank account anymore. 

He took the card. 

“Go Akihito. Go now. While you can.”

With one long, last look at Asami's back, the devastated boy slipped from the ballroom, quietly out the side door that Sudoh held open for him. He ran as far and as fast as he could, his chubby thighs shaking, his flabby belly wobbling, until he could run no further. Then he stopped; panting and breathing heavily. He stared down at his disheveled reflection in a mudpuddle until the first teardrop hit it. Plopping fatly into the center, the ripples distorting and obscuring his face. He cried and cried, until Akihito disappeared from view entirely.

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXoZLPSw8U8


	3. Chapter 3

Asami and his men looked everywhere for Takaba. But it was as if he had disappeared without a trace. It was a pain Asami didn’t know how to deal with. A burning throb in his chest that he carried with him throughout every moment of every day. A knot in his throat that silenced him. He had always been a quiet man, but now he hardly spoke. His numerous, capable assistant’s picked up the slack. 

Every night the last few hours he had had with Akihito played in his mind over and over. The way he had snapped at Akihito for being insecure. He had been irritated and angry. And instead of giving his baby boy the comfort and reassurance those round blue eyes had been begging for, he had snapped at him. Had practically berated him in his impatience.

And then he remembered the look in Akihito’s eyes in the ballroom filled with his colleagues. He had been utterly bewildered. As the night had gone on, he had only become more uncomfortable and awkward. He had felt embarrassed and humiliated. And Asami had ignored it. The thought that it would toughen him up had actually crossed his mind at one point. That it would be good for the young boy. He should have taken him home the moment he realized Aki was unhappy and loved him until he forgot all about his insecurities. He should have said something. He should have done something. But no, when Aki needed him most, Asami had left him standing alone in a room full of people looking down on him. 

There was no one to blame but himself.

How could parading the insecure boy around in front of some of the most beautiful, judgemental people in the world have possibly been good for him? Asami groaned and took another shot of whiskey; flinching as he remembered the hurt in Aki’s eyes as he had introduced Takaba to his staff. He hadn’t been blind to the surprise on their faces. He simply hadn’t cared. But Akihito had. He was incredibly intuitive and horribly sensitive. Of course he had. 

It had been taking a beautiful paper flower into a thunderstorm. 

He had carried it in his hand and held it up to the battering rain; watching it wilt and bleed in his fingers and done nothing. Nothing.

What was worse is that Aki had disappeared with nothing. He had been so trusting and Asami had taken advantage of it to bind him further. Taking control of his finances. Aki was actually very wealthy, Asami had taken his meager earnings as a freelance caterer and invested them. Tripling and quadrupling them over and over. But Akihito…. He simply deposited his checks and had never asked for access to his account. Asami hadn’t thought to give it to him. Akihito was his and he took pride in caring for his every need. Bought him everything the boy ever wanted. Asami in his arrogance hadn’t thought there would ever be a time when Akihito would need his own money. He thought they would be together always.

And now his sweet, lovely, trusting boy was out there alone in the world with nothing and no one. Struggling, hungry, suffering. A hundred different things could happen to him. Was he hurt? Even now at this moment? The thoughts tormented Asami. The price of his sin.

Arrogance. 

They were opposites. Two halves of a whole. And so if Akihito’s one flaw was lack of confidence, Asami’s was the opposite. He had been prideful, arrogant. He had assumed that what they had was unbreakable. That he could protect it. That his sheer force of will would keep them together. He would let no one take Akihito away from him.

In his arrogance, he had been blind to how fragile what they had really was. How breakable.

And now it was broken. Everything he had ever wanted lay shattered on the ground at his feet. 

And Asami Ryuichi had shattered along with it. The big man stared out the window and watched the rain fall, silenced by the knot in his throat, the words that he wanted to scream to the heavens, if only Akihito could hear them…..If only he had said them when Akihito was there with him.

_I love you baby, come back. Please come back._


	4. Chapter 4

There wasn’t a day he didn’t think of Asami. Not one day, not one hour, not one minute. For the first few weeks, all Akihito did was cry in the tiny one room flat he rented after hopping on a train to Sendai. He had relatives in other cities, but there was no reason for Asami to ever look for him in Sendai. Finally one day he woke up and looked as himself in the mirror. His bleary-eyed- red nosed reflection. And realized that he had lost quite a bit of weight. Normally when he was sad he would have reached for the nearest box of pocky, or stuffed himself on Ramen and sushi. But since leaving Asami, even the thought of leaving the apartment to buy food was too painful and exhausting to bear. 

There was a produce shop downstairs and they would deliver fresh bags upstairs to him everyday. Akihito lived on whatever it was they brought him. What did it matter? Nothing tasted the same without Asami there. What was the point of cooking if HE wasn’t there to enjoy it? Cooking just reminded him of Asami and being reminded of Asami sent stabbing pains into his heart that brought him to his knees and made him want to curl into a ball and die. So Akihito nibbled on whatever tasteless ruffage they brought him, staring numbly out the window that faced south towards Tokyo, wondering where Asami was at that moment. What he was doing….and who he was with….... 

He should have gotten an apartment with a window facing the other side.

He was so, so lonely. 

It wasn’t until one day when Akihito went to put on his pants, that he realized just how much weight he had lost. His pants were hopelessly big on him. 

He looked up with a start as someone knocked on the door. Throwing on a shirt that was also much, much too large, he shuffled to the door, holding up his pants with one hand so they wouldn’t fall down. 

It was Kou, the delivery man.

“Hey Aki! How are you feeling today?”

Akihito had told them that he was recovering from an illness. And that was why he never left his apartment. He was, in a way. Although he knew he would never really recover.

“Better.” He replied before realizing exactly what he had said. And with a start, he realized it was true. He did feel better. Physically anyway.

“That’s great! I brought you some fresh oranges and brussel sprouts! Great source of Vitamin C to help build your immune system!”

Akihito smiled gratefully. Kou had become a good friend. He was always rambling on about the particular health benefits of this vegetable or that. It was like he was determined to heal Akihito with the power of produce. Aki was pretty sure there was no plant based cure for a broken heart, but he always accepted it gratefully. 

Kou looked at the brussel sprouts skeptically, “Although, I never could stand the taste of these myself.”

“Really? They aren’t so bad if you cook them right….” Asami’s favorite vegetable was brussel sprouts. He said he had never liked them until Aki cooked them for him. For a moment, his sadness welled up inside him, but then he reconsidered. Kou’s disgusted face making him want to laugh.

“You wanna come in? I’ll show you how to cook them” He said shyly.

Kou’s jaw practically dropped to the floor. In all the months he had been delivering vegetables, Akihito had never once invited him in. A shroud of sadness seemed to envelop the other boy. It was as if he was always enveloped in a rain cloud. But the clouds seemed to have parted just a bit in the last few weeks.

“Y-Yea, sure! I already did all my other deliveries!”

Just give me a second.” Akihito closed the door and undid the chain, looking around frantically to make sure his place was at least presentable. It was. When you have nothing, its pretty hard to make a mess. He opened the door wide for the first time, “Come on in”

It was the first time Kou had gotten a good look at Akihito. All he had really seen was his face and his big beautiful blue eyes. Striking. He was surprised by how huge his clothes were. They looked like they were made for someone else.

“What with the tent?” He said pointing at Akihito’s enormous pants.

“Ah...yea. I lost some weight.” The blond boy looked down with chagrin at his attire.

Kou’s jaw practically dropped to the floor for the second time that day. “Some? What happened to you? These clothes are made for someone twice your size! Was it because of your illness?”

Akihito nodded absently. Had he really lost that much weight? He hadn’t noticed. He tugged on his pants and tried to walk but he couldn’t let go of the waist without tripping over the hem. Kou took off his belt and handed it to Aki. 

“Here, borrow this for now.”

“Thanks” Akihito smiled hitching up his pants and cinching them around his still fleshy, but much smaller waist. He actually HAD a waist now. That was new. He grabbed the groceries and helped carry them to the kitchen. The conversation was awkward at first, but they soon discovered they had a lot of things in common. A love of cooking primarily. They chatted while Aki showed Kou how to cut off the outer leaves and ends (which were the bitterest part) and dice them into quarters. Then soak them in cold water for about 15 minutes, flash boil for two minutes, then back to the ice water. Then he seasoned them with things to combat the bitterness. He usually would have used honey, but fruit juice would work too. He squeezed the oranges over them, rubbed them down with salt and roasted until tender. 

Kou popped one into his mouth and exclaimed with delight.

“Dude, this is delicious!!”

Akihito blushed with pleasure and Kou continued, “Man, I can’t believe this, I just always thought brussel sprouts were bitter. And you either liked em or you didn’t.”

The blond nodded, “Most people think that, but there’s all kinds of ways to get the bitterness out of vegetables and make them taste better.”

Kou popped another one in his mouth and made happy nomming sounds. And then his eyes widened, “If I didn’t know that and I WORK at a produce stand, just think of how many other people don’t know…..Akihito, I shouldn’t tell you this, but the store isn't doing so good. People just don’t buy vegetables like they used to, but maybe if they knew how to cook them better. Like if they tasted THIS” Kou held up another brussel sprout before making it disappear, “They would buy more brussel sprouts…..”

He chewed thinking. Akihito still wasn’t quite sure where he was going with this.

“Aki, would you cook samples? I mean you did this with just orange juice and salt. Think what you could do with some real seasonings and stuff. And you could write down the recipes and we could feature the vegetables and people would taste them and buy them you know?!”

Akihito nodded slowly, “Hey, that’s a really good idea.”

“We couldn’t pay you with money, but you could have all the vegetables you wanted. And we’d buy whatever you needed to cook them. What do you say?”

“I think it sounds like fun.” And he found to his surprise, it really, really did.

Kou smiled wide, “Thats great! Let me run it by my parents but I’m sure they’ll be on board….Do you mind if I take some to let them taste?”

“Yea, no problem” Akihito waved his hand. They had cooked way more than he could eat by himself.

“Awesome, I’ll come by tomorrow and let you know.! Thanks man!!” He gathered a few of the roasted sprouts up in a bag and bounded out the door and down the stairs.  
Akihito smiled for the first time in months.

-

The next day Kou came back with bushels of vegetables, oilve oil and what looked like his mom’s entire spice rack. He also brought some of his brother’s clothes.

Akihito didn’t know what to say but Kou shrugged. “He grew out of them, doesn’t do us any good to let em sit around the house. Plus now that he’s at college, Mom is making his old room into her sewing room.”

“Well, I really appreciate it anyhow.” 

Akihito dressed in the bathroom. They were a perfect fit. He was amazed at how different he felt. He still wasn’t what anyone would call thin. But in his new clothes, he was hardly recognizable. He pressed his hands to his face. He had cheekbones, real cheekbones!

“Check it out! Perfect fit!” He came out of the bathroom and held his hands out. It was the thinnest he had ever been in his life.

“I thought they would be. Ok so I brought you a challenge today. The King of nasty vegetables.” Kou held up a bag of turnips as if it might at many moment come alive and bite him.

Akihito laughed out loud and took it from him and showed him how to make mashed turnips with sage and garlic that tasted almost as good as real mashed potatoes but with a lot more fiber and calcium. He used the tops to make salted turnip greens.

Both dishes were amazing. 

And for the first time ever, the produce stand sold out of turnips. 

-

It became a regular thing, Kou would bring him veggies around four-ish, which he would have piping hot and ready to go for the after work crowd that came between five and six, on their way home to cook dinner. The samples smelled amazing, the scent wafting out to people on the sidewalks and drawing them into the store. It was a massive hit! 

Akihito’s recipes were simple, easy and delicious. The two boys quickly realized what an opportunity they had. Culturally, it was still very important to Japanese women that they make a homecooked meal for their families. The premade frozen skillet meals didn’t sell well at all in Japan. Plus they were gross. But as the wives and mothers were now often working too, it was very difficult; to find a recipe, do the grocery store scavenger hunt, take the ingredients home, do the prep work, actually cook the meal and then clean up afterward. Incredibly time-consuming and exhausting after a full day’s work outside the home.

Akihito realized that they could eliminate the first three of those steps for their customers. They could have a quick, healthy recipe ready to go, with all the fresh ingredients gathered and prepped in a convenient easy to carry bag that could be picked up on the way home from work and quickly turned into a full meal. And the women could still be proud of their homecooked meal. Men and women alike loved it. Word travelled fast and pretty soon Kou and Akihito had more business than they could manage.

They set up their own business, expanded into the empty store next to the produce store and the rest was history.


	5. Chapter 5

The boy had no idea of the attention he drew. He was small and slender but perfectly proportioned. Lightly muscled shoulders tapered to a thin waist. He had high cheekbones and a petite sculpted neck and jaw. Elegant little collarbones with a hollow in his slender throat that begged to be kissed. His skin was tight and soft. Every part of him was tiny and perfect; the results of careful eating and hours of expensive personal training. His teeth were white and straight. The result of Invisalign braces and bleaching. His light blonde hair was silky smooth and shiny. The result of the very best in hair care products and lemon juice lighteners that his hair dresser had given him. His clothes were simple and fit him well. There was nothing about him that was flashy or obtrusive. But still, no matter where he went, everyone noticed him.

Akihito had become, quite frankly, stunningly gorgeous.

He was vaguely aware of his increased physical attractiveness, but the real changes were inside. In the way Akihito felt about himself. The thing that really drew people’s eye was the way he carried himself. The quiet, understated confidence he now had. He was still shy and introverted, but he wasn’t ashamed of himself anymore. And that made all the difference.

Akihito had lost the first thirty pounds unintentionally. But the next thirty had been a careful, conscious and motivated choice. As their business had grown, Akihito had taken it upon himself to begin studying up on nutrition. He didn’t cook like he used to, using fat, butter and creams to make his dishes taste amazing. It would have been shortsighted and foolish. Japanese people were very weight and health conscious. That sort of cooking was accepted and even desirable at special occasions when he was a caterer. People wanted to indulge in those sorts of situations. And that was fine every once in a while. But many of his clients bought his meals every single day. Their families now depended on him and Akihito wanted his meals to be nutritional as well as tasty. Something a person could eat everyday and feel great, not get fat and slow, like those heavy meals would cause.

He devoted himself to his studies. Akihito wanted everyone to be able to eat his cooking so he studied up on gluten free dishes, meals for diabetics, those with allergies, weight loss, vegetarians and even religious restrictions. Those meals had to be ordered ahead of time and so they had to be priced slightly higher, but the rest were made in bulk and it enabled them to keep their prices actually quite close to grocery store prices with a small added premium for the convenience factor. He used organic as much as he could (especially on things like strawberries which soaked up pesticides like sponges) whole grains, fresh vegetables and cold-water seafood.

He cooked things like roasted salmon with sweet red peppers and spinach served with roasted butternut squash; roasted chicken breast in sweet marsala sauce served with sautéed green beans; and bistecca Barcelona strip steak with a light burgundy wine sauce served with wild rice and whole grain pilaf. They sold the most delicious and exquisite Bentos during the lunch hour.

The meals were mouthwatering, healthy and many of his clients actually lost weight when they switched to his meals from other convenience foods. Chef-To-Go became an overnight sensation and turned into a household name with a couple years. Akihito was content to remain the silent partner. He was the talent behind the operation and Kou was the brains. He took the one store and turned it into a thriving chain. Kou was incredibly motivated, he would scout out the perfect spot near a city center, that was right on the way home for most business people. Using Akihito’s incredibly popular recipes, they hired workers to replicate them. They would spend the day gathering, prepping and packaging the meals which would be ready to go around the same time the business people got off work. All their harried, grateful customers had to do was take them home and heat em up. The craze spread all over Japan.

They expanded their services, the bulk of their business was still the prepared meals that were taken home. But they also offered catering and home delivery services. In the evenings, their chefs were even available for in-home parties. Allowing the hosts the freedom to come out of the kitchen and enjoy their own gatherings. They brought gourmet food, cooked it and cleaned up afterward. Turning the chore of entertaining a large group of people back into a fun experience. They was a little push back from the older generations who somewhat felt it was ‘cheating’. But the younger people loved it. Chef-To-Go’s diet meals were intensely popular. They made dieting easy, Akihito took the thought and pain out of it. All the people had to do was buy three meals a day and if they stuck to his plan, the weight came off. AND the meals were filling and tasty. Their stores sprang up in every major city center in Japan.

There were two in Shinjuku.

-

Akihito had kept track of Asami. Almost obsessively. He had a subscription almost every newspaper and magazine. To his shame, he still googled Asami’s name at least once a week. Although the pictures of him with other people still shot arrows into his heart, it was somehow worse to not see him at all. Akihito was so proud of him. He continued to succeed, reaching new heights constantly. He was even featured on the cover of Forbes magazine once. And Akihito’s worn issue of GQ that Asami had been featured in as one of Tokyo’s top bachelors was so sticky at this point; the pages were practically glued together. He might have actually licked the page where Asami’s shirt was unbuttoned, his black hair cascading carelessly over his handsome brow, his intense golden gaze fixed on the camera challengingly. Maybe. 

Just once or twice.

But Akihito had ten other copies of it on his bookshelf.

He had thought a hundred times, a thousand times of going to see him. Of just walking up to him and planting one on him. Of how Asami might react to the ‘new and improved’ him. It was his favorite fantasy.

But Asami only dated the best. Models, actresses. All beautiful, incredibly beautiful and successful. A different one every night. 

And the way Akihito had left….had been so wrong. He saw that now. Asami deserved better. Much better. He deserved much better than a coward who ran away into the night without so much as a fare-the-well. Without so much as a thank you for all the things Asami had done for him. 

So as much as he wanted to, Akihito never picked up the phone. He never even went back to Tokyo. He was still convinced that Asami deserved better. His old insecurities never completely disappeared. Because no matter how different Aki was on the outside, no matter how rich and successful; the inside is always much, much harder to change. 

-


	6. Chapter 6

The chrome pots and pan were all arranged neatly. Clean and shining and all in order. The ten thousand dollar Santoku knife set as well, all perfectly arranged in their slots. If you looked inside the cabinets, you would have seen the same. Each piece of cookware, serveware, each plate in the same spot it had sat for over two years now. In the drawers, the cutlery was lined up. And on the wall, a brightly colored “Kiss The Cook’ apron was draped over a metal hook. It was incongruous in the gleaming, modern kitchen. That and the faded handwritten recipe on blue stationery that hung from a quirky pickle magnet on the fridge. Those were the only things that let you know the kitchen had ever been touched. 

It was exactly as the last person who had used it, had left it.

Asami never let anyone in the kitchen. And God forbid anyone touch anything. Move anything. The housekeeper was excluded. But she knew her orders well; keep it clean and polished and shining and never, EVER move anything. Not that anyone else ever stayed long enough to even find the kitchen in the enormous penthouse. The few lovers Asami brought back never stayed the night. If they had, they probably would have noticed the novelty Panda mug in the bathroom that held the second toothbrush. The rubber ducky in the shower. They might have noticed that all the drawers on the opposite side of Asami’s side of the bed were full of clothes he never wore. That half of the closet was filled with things made for someone much shorter and fatter than Asami. 

Had anyone been allowed to hang the penthouse around long enough, they would have noticed that there were two people’s things in the apartment. That the apartment seemed to be waiting for someone to come home.

Just like its owner.

Kirishima sighed. He was there to drop off Asami-san’s dinner. His boss only ate take-out or in restaurants. He never cooked. He hardly seemed to notice what he ate. It was as if it was completely unimportant to him. He just ate whatever Kirishima brought him to eat. And if Kirishima didn’t bring him something, well then he just drank whiskey. 

The last two years had wrought changes on Asami that were not entirely welcome. Yes, he was richer and more powerful than ever. The Sion corporation was a financial and industrial powerhouse. He was harder than he had ever been. It was as if, when Akihito left, he took all of Asami’s softness with him, leaving behind only hard rough edges. You could see it even in his face, his body. His face was angular, strikingly handsome but sharp. He was still as large and muscular as ever, but somehow everything about him seemed sharper. Harsher. And harder. Much harder.

-

Asami opened the door quietly and slipped inside, toeing his shoes off.

His lips pressed together thinly. This was the hardest part of every day. Bar none. Coming home to his cold empty apartment. He no longer thought of it as his home. Not anymore. 

He set down his briefcase and loosened his tie. He had everything he ever wanted. He was the CEO and owner of Sion industries, one of the largest corporate conglomerates in the world. He more money than anyone could spend in a lifetime. Every physical luxury possible. Woman... and men falling at his feet to be his lover. And yet, all of his joys were empty and hollow without the beautiful boy in his kitchen.

Asami took a deep breath to stifle the sharp pain in his chest and noticed something different.... There was a scent in the air. A strangely familiar scent... He inhaled deeply at the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen, his feet moving of their own accord as he followed it. There was a brown paper bag with a to-go box in it sitting on the counter.

Normally, he would have grabbed a fork and eaten it straight from the box, sitting in his armchair watching the news. But tonight, for some reason, he felt like the meal deserved to be on a plate. And that it deserved to be eaten at the table. For the first time in over two years, he took out a plate from the cabinet, ignoring the pain in his heart as he looked at the familiar Blue Willow pattern. Akihito had loved Blue Willow dishes. Each one told a story. English in origin, as were the plates actually. Though looking at them most people would not have known they were not from China. The story was about two lovers, kept apart by a high wall between them. The willow tree was the symbol of their love. It had had a tragic ending and the lovers had been turned into birds after their death. Akihito had told him the story long ago, but he had forgotten it. He stared at the plate for a long time trying to remember. The trees, the wall, the little houses and people. There were two birds at the top. He took a long serving spoon and slowly covered the story of the two lovers up with food.

And then he sat, in his cold, empty dining room, and ate his lonely supper. Strangely, though, he had never felt so close to Akihito. The familiar blue and white porcelain peeking from beneath all of his favorite foods. Roasted brussel sprouts; crispy and toasted to perfection with a hint of garlic and honey. Tiny scalloped potatoes with green onions and cooked in wine. Salmon baked in a chickpea batter until it formed an almost buttery crust around the fillet. It simply melted in his mouth. and for dessert a succulent raspberry tart. Somehow the cook had mixed the bitter and the sweet perfectly together into an utterly unique taste

He savored every texture, every taste, every bite. Which was strange because after Akihito left Asami hardly even noticed what he ate anymore. Food was food. Everything was pretty much tasteless. It had always been that way for him, even as a boy. Except when Takaba cooked for him. The dishes he had prepared were infused with so much love, it was impossible not to taste it. That had been how his boy expressed it. He was too shy to ever say it. But Asami had known, he had always known. 

And he had just assumed that Akihito knew how he felt too. 

If only, he hadn’t assumed. If only he had said it, just once, then maybe he could have forgiven himself. But he couldn't. Because he had been silent, when Akihito needed his words the most.

Asami sat alone at the table and ate every last bite. Until all the food was gone and yet again, he was staring down at the two love birds, soaring above the weeping willow.

-


	7. Chapter 7

“Kirishima”

Asami-san strode into his office the next morning, startling his bespectacled secretary.

“Yes, sir?”

“The meal you left at the penthouse last night. Where did you get it?”

“Was there something wrong with it sir?”

His boss shook his head. “No… I… enjoyed it. Very much. Thank you.”

Kirishima’s eyebrows flew up in surprise. Food was food. Asami always said so. He had never asked for anything. He never praised anything.

“There’s a new catering service I used. It’s called Chef-To-Go…”

Asami’s attention had already drifted to a stack of reports on his desk. “Good, good…” He muttered while walking away.

Kirishima smiled as he walked away. It was a good sign. Perhaps he was finally coming around. Getting over Akihito. And even if not, at least Kirishima knew where he’d be getting Asami-san’s meals from now on. Perhaps he should look more into this Chef- To-Go place, they seemed to be doing very well. There were a couple in Shinjuku and they always seemed to be busy. 

-

“AKIHITO!!!!”

Aki startled, dropping the ladle right down into the soup he had been making. It landed with a splash, the a few drops of soup spilling out onto the burner with a sizzle

He glared at his best friend, “Kou! Don’t DO that!!!” 

“Sorry man, I was just so excited. Guess what?”

“What?” Akihito said distractedly, grabbing a pair of tongs and attempting to fish the ladle out of the deep soup pot.

“You know how I’ve been trying to get funding to start some stores overseas? Well… I think I may have gotten it!”

“Really? Thats great Kou!”

Akihito was up on his tiptoes, trying to reach the bottom of the pot with the tongs. 

“You ever heard of Sion Industries? Well the CEO wants to meet with us!”

With a loud splat, Akihito dropped the tongs in the soup too. The orange liquid splattered all over the front of his apron.

But this time he didn’t care.

He whirled around, suddenly giving Kou his full attention, “What? Why?”

“Well apparently, he’s a big fan of our food. Eats it every night.”

The blond could feel his heart jump up in his throat, fluttering like a frantic butterfly. Asami was eating his food? Did he know? Akihito made every meal, every dish with him in mind. Did he know that it was Akihito who was behind Chef-To-Go? Did he want to meet with them because...he knew?… Maybe…he missed…

Kou continued on with a huge smile, “I mean, I exaggerated a little bit. We won’t actually be meeting with the CEO. Just his secretary. But apparently, if you want to get to the CEO, thats the guy you have to go through. There’s a ton of people who would give their right ARM to meet with him.”

“Kirishima?”

“Yea, how did you know?”

Akihito felt his heart drop back down into his chest. Lower even. Asami didn’t know it was him. It was just business afterall. He sighed heavily, “Look Kou. I can’t go to that meeting. In fact, you can’t let them know I’m involved at all.”

Kou’s brown eyes widened in surprise, “Look Aki, I know you’ve always wanted to be the silent partner. But you, I mean you’re the talent of this operation. There’s a reason a ton people have started this type of business and failed. There’s a reason we succeeded, and its not my good looks. This is a big step for us and I really think you should be involved.”

“Kou, trust me when I say this and know that I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t have a very good reason, but you CAN NOT let them know who your partner is. I will help in any and every way that I can, but please as a favor to me, you gotta leave me out of it.”

Kou took in his best friend’s face. Never had he known Akihito to back down from anyone or anything. And he had never known him to lie.

He nodded slowly, “Ok Aki. It shouldn’t be too hard. We kept your real name off the articles of incorporation, they probably don’t even know that I have a partner…”

He frowned. They were opening yet another store in Shinjuku. The busy business center was turning out to be one of their biggest moneymakers yet. But the long lines at their stores were starting to turn people off, so they were opening another to help fulfill the demand. Akihito was very particular about training the head chefs at the new restaurants. Luckily, they had been able to relocate two already experienced chefs to the first two locations, but they didn't have anyone for the newest store. It wouldn’t be the first time Akihito had traveled to help get a store on its feet.

“But I still need you to go with me to Tokyo.”

Akihito held up his hands, “No man, I can’t. Honestly.”

“Not for the meeting with Sion, for the new store opening.”

Akihito was still shaking his head so Kou played his trump card. He sighed as if in acquiescence, “Alright, I’ll just send Mitarai to open the store then. He said he wanted to move to Tokyo anyway.”

Mitarai was one of their chefs who had delusions of grandeur. He wanted to open his own restaurant, but had failed. He was forever messing with and changing Akihito’s recipes. Usually to disastrous results. Aki was too nice to fire him, but there was only so far you could demote someone…

Aki’s blue eyes opened wide at the thought of Mitarai running one of the shops in Shinjuku. Of Asami eating Mitarai’s cooking. Asami tasting one of Mitarai’s god-awful, butchered recipes. Oh God. No.

Before he had even fully thought it through, he blurted it out, “NO! I’ll go!”

Kou looked at him in concern, “Are you sure? I know Mitarai would looove to have his own store to run….”

Akihito shook his head, “No, absolutely not. I’ll run it until we find someone else. Anyone else.”

“Alright. Well if you are sure?”

“I’m sure, I’m sure!”

“I’ll make the arrangements then.”

Kou smirked as he walked out of the room. Aki was so easy. 

-


	8. Chapter 8

-

Akihito drew a deep breath as he walked out onto the street. He had moved back to the original neighborhood he had started in. All those years ago, back before he moved in with Asami, when he was still in culinary school. He had been just eighteen when he started culinary school. And only twenty when he met Asami. And then twenty three when he left…..

Just being here hurt. Everything reminded him of Asami. It haunted him. The stores he used to go to to buy Asami’s smokes, his whiskey, his food and even his fancy shampoo. The restaurants, the streets, the stores…. that he never went to with Asami. He had made himself a prisoner. Slowly but surely the strange looks and the stares he got when they went out together, well, he had let them get to him. They got under his skin and lodged there like a splinter. Asami had never cared. He wasn’t the type to notice what other people thought. But Akihito had obsessed.

And rather than taking steps to change the things he didn’t like about himself, he had wallowed in it. And completely stopped going places with Asami. He shut him out. He would go out on his own and do the things he wanted to do, shopping and the farmer’s markets and movies. Yes, it had been pathetic. But somehow it hadn’t made him feel quite as pathetic as the curious, pitying stares that his chubby presence next to such a handsome man had attracted. Standing next to him, Akihito never felt lower. The reflection in the mirror was bad enough, but catching a glimpse of himself in stranger's eyes was even worse. It was the comparison to Asami and how incredibly far he fell short; that killed him. 

And Asami, well, Akihito was always home when he got home and then Aki never wanted to go anywhere. It hadn’t bothered him at first. Aki smiled bemusedly at the memory. Asami had his own way of passing the time. And his favorite activity was best completed in the bedroom. But as the months had gone on and on and Akihito refused to so much as go out in public with him, he had started to get upset. And frustrated.  
And rightfully so. 

Aki sighed…. Asami had been the best thing that ever happened to him. And he had thrown it all away because of his stupid insecurities. Why couldn’t he have pulled himself together and got healthy for Asami? Why did it take losing EVERYTHING for him to go out make his dreams happen?

Akihito sighed again as he walked alone. How many times had he fantasized about doing just this with Asami? Walking through the farmer’s market? Holding hands…. looking at things together. They could have bought cappuccinos and held hands as they walked, kissing the whipped cream from each others lips. God, Asami had been such a good kisser. He was so hot. And smart. And funny. And caring… He should have gone with him to that quirky movie theater over there and seen a French film that only Asami would have understood. But he would have translated... Akihito smiled. And they should have gone shopping for yukatas at that quaint store together. And they could have gotten bought some Ramen from that street vender and sat on that bench together…..

And so, Akihito walked down the streets of Shinjuku with the ghosts of all the things he had never done with Asami. 

-


	9. Chapter 9

The head of the company Asami was supposed to spend the day meeting with had a heart attack. He survived, barely, after a quadruple bypass and two stents. Asami had Kirishima send his condolences and the appropriate flowers, but there was no salvaging his schedule for the day. So Asami had the day off. And he had no idea what to do with himself. What did people DO on days off?

It had been so long since he took one. When Akihito lived with him, he always made sure to take the weekends off. But weekends ceased to have meaning once his boy was not there to spend them with. And so now, he worked seven days a week. He had for the past two years. So to have an entire day with nothing planned, nothing scheduled… it was almost unsettling. There were always reports and paperwork to review, but somehow he felt that all he wanted a cup of coffee and a newspaper. And he did not want to read it in his empty penthouse. The sun and the blue sky outside was beckoning to him….

But he couldn’t go to a coffee shop, not in Shinjuku anyway. His face was far too recognizable in this area. He would be immediately bombarded by business associates looking for an opening, vying for his attention. No. He needed to go to a neighborhood where his face was unrecognizable. Perhaps that part of Akihito had always liked, with the open air markets. He felt certain he remembered him talking about a coffee shop there he had liked. 

Not long after he made his decision, the limo dropped him off. Asami ignored the strange look his chauffeur gave him.

He might not have been well known to the area but the sight of a businessman in a three piece suit walking through the farmer’s market still drew quite a bit of attention and Asami regretted not dressing more casually. It was full of the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. But a very different type than Shinjuku. Rather than walking quickly, determinedly and silently without so much as a glance at the strangers around them; people meandered, laughing, calling to one another. He had almost walked to the middle of the market when he thought he heard something familiar. 

A laugh. High pitched, exuberant, breathless and rather inelegant.

His golden eyes immediately sought out the source of the happy sound. In front of one of the fruit venders, there was a blond holding a piece of watermelon trying to lick the juice that was running down his fingers and arm. A gorgeous, thin, smiling blond, who threw back his head and laughed like music. Asami felt almost as if someone had hit him over the head. The boy is THAT fucking beautiful. He is also sure he has heard that laugh somewhere before. He shook his head, trying to remember what’s so familiar about the laugh, but he doesn’t remember, and anyway, there’s no way he knows that boy. 

Unfortunately. 

Asami walked over to pretend to peruse the produce at a nearby stand. He kept glancing sideways over at him, because he is truly lovely and that smile is a little hypnotic. But the little blond doesn’t look over at him, not once, far too immersed in the conversation with the seller. He just can’t seem to get a good look at his face and suddenly felt frustrated. He NEEDED to see him. His golden eyes were intently focused on the blond boy as he strode forward to introduce himself, but suddenly a group of school children came running through. And with him not paying attention and the children not paying attention, the collision that occurs is inevitable.The ice cream that the youngest was carrying ends up smeared on Asami’s suit and he finds himself in the utterly strange position of comforting a small child and buying him a new cone, despite the old cone that is now covering the front of a three thousand dollar custom Armani suit. By the time the child is smiling again, the beautiful blond is long gone. Asami sighed, surprised at the level of disappointment that he felt. He would probably never see him again. 

He ducked into a bookstore and used the restroom to clean himself up. As thanks, he purchased several books and the newspaper which is half of the reason he came in the first place. He handed the cashier his platinum card and waited for the timid girl behind the register to ring him up, scanning the people walking by outside. Not looking for anyone in particular. At least, not admitting it to himself.

He did a double-take when he actually spotted him in the crowd. Surely not, it can’t be… But, it is. The very same beautiful blond he saw moments ago walking right past the news stand. He wouldn’t have recognized him because he is now wearing a hat over his golden blond hair. But he saw him smile, and it’s a smile that, even after just a brief glimpse, he can’t seem to get it out of his head.

The cashier is new and is having considerable trouble ringing his card up. Hurry up, hurry up, he urges in his head, not wishing to be rude as the girl messes up the transaction yet again. She finally called the manager over. Asami looked impatiently at her, then back at the blond, who’s stopped just by the door to pick up a book on display. A sense of urgency is creeping over him. The manager speaks to him and he looks away from the blond, nodding in agreement to whatever she says because all he can think about is getting OUT of there so he can go find HIM. He looks up, but now he’s gone. Asami grabbed his books, his newspaper, nearly forgets his card and practically ran out the door.

There he was. Running. Through the crowd, dodging people and Asami follows him almost frantically until he see him disappear into a coffee shop. Which is perfect, really, because Asami wanted to cup of coffee anyway. But still, he hesitated before going in. 

Despite following him so frantically, what the hell did he plan to do if he caught him? What would he have said? Chasing the boy down just because he thinks he's pretty? How is he planning to explain that?

And even though this boy is possibly the most beautiful thing he has ever seen, male or female… he doesn’t want to ask him out. He obviously isn’t like the models or actresses Asami dates. Cold, callous creatures who move through partners like revolving doors. Who never stop to wonder why he is so cold to them, because they themselves are so cold. Ice doesn’t notice if it is frozen. But this boy exudes warmth. And Asami has none left to give him. Asami doesn’t want a new boy, not while his heart is still with his old one. He felt like a damned idiot for chasing the blond like that. 

Might as well get some coffee since he’s here though. 

-


	10. Chapter 10

-

It was him. It was definitely him he saw in the window of the bookstore. Akihito takes deep breaths and wonders why? Why in God's name did he run?

He doesn’t have an answer.

He sat at the corner table for a long time, chewing his nails to hide his nerves. Eventually, he walked over to the counter to order a cappuccino because he knows that if he doesn’t, they are going to start wondering why he is sitting there and possibly ask him to leave. And he can’t leave yet. He just can’t. He’s so embarrassed. Why did he run? Asami is out there and he’s just not ready to face him. All these years later, he is still the scared little boy. Ashamed and embarrassed and unworthy. So unworthy. He is still standing at the counter when he hears the door chime ring, signaling that another customer has walked in. Its like a movie in slow motion as Akihito turn his head to see who it is. But he already knows. It’s him. It’s Asami.

And his poor heart turned over, twisting in his chest. Is it even possible that Asami has got better looking? His shoulders broader, his hair darker? How is it even possible to look that good in a suit? He is so striking.The air of confidence around him seems even more intimidating. Every head in the coffee shop turned to look at the man who has just walked in. Time freezes.

Akihito thought that things would be different. Though that HE was different. He thought that perhaps, once he actually saw Asami in the flesh, perhaps he wouldn’t feel the way he had before. Perhaps he would just look at him, admit he’s perfect and not have it affect him the way it used to. That somehow it wouldn’t make him feel woefully, pathetically inadequate. But no. Akihito feels exactly the way he did two years ago. Like a lovestruck imbecile. Who always somehow manages to do and say exactly the wrong thing.

Just like he is doing right now.

He has no idea what to say. Its as if the entire Japanese language has exited his brain and he just stands there looking ridiculous, gaping with his mouth open as the poor barista tries to hand him his coffee.

He feels so naked and exposed. Stripped of his defenses with no way to stop Asami seeing right through to the churning emotions inside. His stomach flips over and over.

And then finally, finally, Asami sees him, and when he does, he starts to smile. And Aki feels as if he can breathe again.

That smile says everything is ok. He knows him, he’s recognized him! And he’s not mad. Asami seems happy to see him. Happy!

Really happy.

Before he even realizes what he is doing, he is walking towards him, not breaking his gaze for a second. He forgets everything around him except for Asami, his love. And Asami is walking towards him just as urgently. And then, they are standing in front of each other and they are both smiling. Akihito doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need to. That smile says it all.

Finally Asami speaks, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Akihito opens his mouth to apologize for running away, but Asami continues, “I just wanted to say one thing, I am not trying to pick you up, so please don’t be offended. I just wanted to tell you. You have the most beautiful smile… And I think you are absolutely gorgeous. If you have ever considered modeling, my company has a new product line coming out…”

Asami flips a business card out of his wallet as confusion crosses Akihito’s face. He accepts the card numbly.

“If you are interested, just call the number on that card. I will tell my assistant to expect your call.”

What is this?

Is this a joke?

What is really happening?

He knew his face was scarlet to the tips of his ears. Can feel the burning behind his eyelids. Asami smiled. His eyes glow kindly down at him and he apologized, “I didn’t mean to embarrass you, I just wanted you to know.”

With a shrug and an impersonal smile, he turned away from the person he obviously saw as a complete stranger and sat at the table, calmly unfolding a newspaper and smiling up at the waitress who has rushed over to help him, ignoring all her other customers.

Akihito just stood there. His ears buzzing with the roaring in his head until suddenly a muffled voice pierced the fog. He is vaguely aware of the barista waving his hands in the air and trying to get his attention.

“Excuse me sir? Your cappuccino?”

The words went into his ears but that was where they stopped.

He has never been more humiliated in his life. That night with Sudoh is nothing compared to this. He can’t go over there now. Not after what he just said. Asami looked right at him and didn’t even know him. He wasn’t even interested in getting to know him. He saw nothing but a pretty face.

What can he say? No Asami, its me, Takaba… No. He can’t. Aki knows he has to leave. His legs are shaking and Asami is reading his paper. He hasn’t given Aki even a second glance. He has to leave. Now.

Blinded by tears, he walks down the street on autopilot.

He goes home to his empty apartment and stares down at the business card in his hand before slowly and deliberately shredding it into a million pieces. Asami didn’t recognize him.

Then he goes into the kitchen. He opens the fridge and pulls out everything inside it. It disappears and then reappears. Like some sick magic trick. 

It wasn’t enough. He still feels empty.

He goes to the market down the street and buys everything he lays his eyes on. Sushi. Pocky. Chips. Ice cream. Cheese. Cookies.

He brings it all back to his apartment and stuffs his face until there is nothing left. He gets on his knees and brings it up, as if somehow he can purge the pain as well.

But he didn’t stop there, even though he knows he should. The emptiness is gnawing at him still. He almost feels frantic, trying the gaping hole up. Desperately, he pulls out things from the recesses of the pantry. Stale chips and old crackers. He spies a half a loaf of bread and pulls that out too. And then he sits alone at the kitchen table and he eats.

And eats.

And eats.

And eats.

-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRmaWexaebk


	11. Chapter 11

Akihito lies on the cold hard floor and stares at ugly brown blotch in the middle of the empty white ceiling. It draws your eye. Its small but it stands out in such a way against the rest of the smooth surface that you can hardly see anything but the imperfection, the rest of the perfect ceiling somehow disappears behind the moldy stain. He feel somehow, as if he is staring into the mirror and isn’t that just sick?

His stomach is aching from the emptiness inside him. His head hurts. He feel guilty and horrible and disgusting for his lack of self control. And worse for the damage he did to himself. Sticking his fingers down his throat and throwing it up. And then stuffing himself again until he was sick, on his knees over the toilet. Trying to purge himself of the pain. Repeating the cycle over and over again until his eyes are bloodshot, his knees are bruised, his throat is sore and his body is shaking. 

And he knows it wasn’t about the food. It never is. It never has been. 

Its about so much more than that.

He rests his head back on the cold tile, closes his eyes and rubs his hands over his stomach and feels how, even after all his binging and purging, it dips in. Concave. Hollow.

He remembers when it was huge. An enormous mound of flesh. He used his flesh and his size to hide away from the world, to hide his discomfort with his sexuality, to hide his fears and his insecurities and his inadequacy.

And then he tried to disappear. Literally. In the days after he left Asami. He hardly ate at all, he hated himself too much to nourish himself. Shedding the pounds was his own attempt at destroying himself. Trying to waste away into nothing. Because he felt like nothing and felt he deserved nothing.

And even after he got ‘healthy’, it was still about destroying himself. Erasing who he used to be. Exercising to exhaustion. Obsessing. Counting every calorie, studying the scale. Changing the reflection in the mirror, changing who he was, because he hated who he was. Erasing everything he used to be until the one he loved the most… couldn’t even recognize him.

And now, binging and purging to get rid of the pain, to fill the emptiness, even while he was terrified of gaining weight. He was assaulting himself now. Physically. Mentally. 

But it was never about the food. Not when he was too fat. And not now, when he was too thin. It was still the same story. The problem wasn’t his outside, it was in his head. He was still using food to cope with his emotions; low self-esteem, feeling hopeless, inadequate, worthless. It wasn’t his outside that needed fixing. It never had been. His fucked up relationship with food was only the symptom of the illness in his mind. He needed to stop hurting his body for something that wasn't its fault.

It was his soul that was sick.

After a while Akihito gets up off the floor. He feels as if he is disappearing into that ugly brown stain and he gets up, curious to see what he looks like. What he really looks like. He feels strangely as if he has forgotten his own face. Forgotten who he really is. 

Akihito washes and rinses the bile from his mouth. He goes into the bedroom and pulls the full-length mirror around to face himself. He lifts his T-shirt over his head and drops his shorts. And then just stands there, naked, looking at himself. Its been so long since he got out of his own way and looked at himself without the pain of the past clouding his vision.

He sees a boy. Just a boy. 

And its just a body. A human body. Real and flawed and no worse and no better than any other. No more perfect and no more imperfect than anyone else. There are a few stretch marks here and there, a little loose skin on his thighs. A scar on his tummy. But on the whole, its not bad. He looks at his taut, muscular figure, so lean now that he can see his very bones poking through. He skims his waist, marveling at how tiny it is, and he tries to pinch an inch. He can’t. All he can manage is a few millimeters of skin. 

He likes this body. Not because of what it looks like, but because of what it can do. Because it is strong and capable and will carry him through. It is the shell that carries his soul. And he can never escape it. He will never be free of his imperfections. So he needs to love it for all the things it is, not hate it for what it is not.

It deserves better. Far better than he has given it. He is not going to binge anymore, but he is also not going to stay obsessed with being as skinny as he can be. He is going to exercise and eat healthy and indulge every once in a while. He supposes his weight will just settle at whatever it is supposed to settle at. And he will simply be who he is meant to be. And that is good enough. Hows that for a revelation?

And finally, finally, for the first time that he can remember, Akihito smiles at his reflection. Sees the beauty in it. The good. For the first time, those eyes are not cold, they are not contemptuous, they are not searching for each and every flaw. Piercing and ridiculing. There is love in its eyes. Understanding and compassion and forgiveness. And that makes all the difference. 

For the first time in his entire life, his reflection smiles back at him.

-


	12. Chapter 12

Akihito woke to a new day determined to move forward. To stop living in the past and punishing himself for those mistakes. Determined to find closure. To apologize to Asami and make things right. Face up to the wrong he did to both of them when he ran away like a thief in the night. He dreaded it. Knew Asami probably hates him at this point, but it is the right thing to do. He just has to man up, no matter how much it hurts. He flips open his cellphone and his finger hovers over the buttons. The number isnt in this phone, but he still remembers each and every digit by heart …. but then he closed it and laid it down on the kitchen table. It was barely six in the morning. Asami tended to work late and get up late. He should wait until later. But he would call. Today.

Aki eased his little Toyota out onto the road fearfully. He missed his little Vespa. It felt like he couldn’t see anything inside the car. And it was such a pain to park! He could stick his scooter practically anywhere. But he mostly used the car to go to the farmer’s market to buy fresh produce and meats and trying to haul the quantities needed back to Shinjuku on a Vespa was a little silly.

He HATED driving in Tokyo traffic. You really needed like four sets of eyes watching in all directions to see everything that was going on. From pedestrians darting out into traffic to cars zipping in and out. Buses stopped, redlights changing, lanes merging in, merging out. It was absolutely overwhelming for someone who was not used to it. And Akihito was not. Even when he had lived here, he had HATED driving. Problem was, the farmer’s markets were a LONG way from Shinjuku. He lived close to them, but then he was far from work. So he got up early to get what he needed for the day and then hauled it all back to the store in Shinjuku. After a few weeks, he found that as long as he got up early enough, the traffic wasn’t so bad.

But this morning he was running late. 

He missed the car that cut him off on Yamanote street, the pedestrian that stepped out in front of him as he was turning onto Taito, but about a block away from the farmer’s market, he was distracted, looking for a parking spot and missed the black Ferrari that slammed on its brakes.

Akihito slammed into him with the sickening crunch of metal bending and plastic breaking.

His blue eyes widened in horror as the driver got out and stormed angrily towards him. He could hear the vivid curses from where he was inside the car. With the windows rolled up. And the music on. 

Of all the cars, of all the people, on all the streets, in ALL of Tokyo. Why in GOD’s name did it have to be him? What were the chances? Really. 

Really?

Akihito just stared in stupefied horror as the blond man railed at him from outside the window. Finally, he slammed his fist down on the hood of the Toyota and screeched, “Get out of the car!”

The poor boy opened the door and got out of the car, intimidated but also a little irritated. It wasn’t like he hit him on purpose. He put his hands up in an attempt to placate the other man, “Look I’m sorry, it was an accident. I’ll pay for whatever repairs have to be made.”

He screeched at that. “Repairs? You can’t repair a mint 1970s Ferrari Dino! She was a classic! And now she’s ruined. Ruined! And look at you? What is that? A fucking Camry? You couldn’t pay for the repairs even if you wanted to!”

Cars were starting to honk at them. People yelling out their windows. They were completely blocking traffic. Akihito glowered, “I can pay for the repairs. Look its just a couple of banged up bumpers, lets get them off the road and park them and we can hash out the details, ok?”

Sudoh’s catty green eyes narrowed suspiciously on the beautiful boy, “Oh no, no fucking way. I let you back in your car, you are gonna drive off and I won’t see a dime! You think I’m fucking stupid? Is that what you think? OFFICER!! OFFICEEER!”

Sudoh ran into the street waving down a cop that was already making his way over to them.

“This BRAT ran into to me and now he’s trying to drive off without taking responsibility, I want you to arrest him immediately!”

Aki’s eyes widened involuntarily. Arrest him? Surely not. It was an accident!

The officer felt the same, rolling his eyes at the blond’s histrionics. He dealt with this all day, every day and had pinned Sudoh as a bit of a drama queen immediately. The officer looked over to Akihito and drawled sarcastically, “If he is trying to run away, he’s doing a pretty shitty job of it.”

Akihito snickered and Sudoh’s face turned bright red with anger, “Look what he DID to MY CAR!” 

The officer blinked at the dented bumper and then back at Sudoh. The expression on his face said it all, “Do you really want to file an accident report for a dent?”

“Its a Vintage Classic. A FORMERLY Mint Condition Ferrari Dino!” 

Again, the officer’s face said it all. “So?”

Sudoh threw his hands up in rage, “YES I want to file a report! AND press charges! And check his license, I bet he doesn’t even have one. I bet he’s not even old enough to be DRIVING. I mean LOOK at him!”

The officer smirked and checked Akihito out. “Oh, I’m looking at him alright….”

The stunning blond boy’s eyes widened as he realized the policeman was semi-hitting on him. Sudoh muttered in indignation, grinding his teeth together loudly, “Just check his goddamn license.”

There was a twinkle in the officer’s eyes as he walked over to Akihito, “Sir, I’m going to need to see your license.”

“Yes sir, here it is.” He pulled it out of his wallet and handed it to the officer. The officer looked down at the license and stopped. He looked up at Akihito and then down at the license again. His face had gone serious and so had the tone of his voice when he spoke again, “Sir do you have another form of ID?”

Aki shook his head. The only other thing he had was his passport, but he left that at home. 

“Are you sure this is your license?”

He drew a deep breath in. He hadn’t even thought about changing the picture on his license. It had been taken about three years ago, back when he had been morbidly overweight. He had had a different color hair, different teeth and a completely different face. He was wholly unrecognizable from the picture on the license. In so many ways, he WAS a different person.

“Yes sir, thats my license.”

Sudoh came to look over the officer’s shoulder, he glanced down at the round face in the picture and back up at Aki’s trim figure, “There’s no way that’s your license. Obviously you’re a thief as well as a reckless driver! ARREST him!”

It was obvious he hadn’t recognized Akihito’s picture off the license. But that was hardly comforting.

“Sir, may I see your wallet and registration.”

He handed both items to him quickly, not wishing to cause more of a scene. People were starting to crowd around. It was all extremely embarrassing. The policeman thumbed through his wallet. Aki knew what he would find. All the credit cards said the same thing as his license and registration. But none of that proved that he was the person in the picture.

“Look, I’m going to need to take you down to the station until we get this all sorted out.”

He looked at Akihito apologetically and Aki nodded in compliance. This day was just getting shittier and shittier. 

“Do you have someone you can call to come and get your car?”

Kou could come get it. He patted down his pockets and then remembered where his cell phone was and his shoulders slumped even further. It was at home. On the kitchen table. Where he left it. And he didn’t know Kou’s new cell number.

Well fuck. 

-


	13. Chapter 13

The officer who took Akihito into custody was really quite nice. His name was Takato and they had quite a lot in common. But the one who took over once Akihito was at the police station was quite another matter. He was rude, argumentative and wouldn’t listen to a thing Akihito said. He seemed to have already decided that Akihito had apparently killed the fat kid in the license picture and taken over his life. Aki could tell the police sergeant was already making up speeches for the television cameras and TV shows about how he caught the ‘crafty’ identity snatcher-murderer-whatever. He was an idiot.

Sergeant Sakazaki leaned over him intimidatingly, bellowing in his face. He could smell the onions on his breath. And old coffee. It was not a good combination.

Sakazaki seemed to take Akihito’s disgusted expression personally, “You think you’re too good for this pretty boy? Well, here’s the deal. You can either tell me where the fat boy in the picture is and what you did to him or I am going to throw the book at you. Murder, identity theft, car theft, fraud…..”

Akihito told him again, for the hundredth time, “The fat boy is me. I lost a lot of weight, got braces and lightened my hair.” 

“Well that doesn’t explain why we can’t find you in the system. None of the facial recognition softwares, no fingerprints, nothing!”

“My face isn’t coming up because the boy in the picture IS ME! I’ve never been fingerprinted because I AM NOT A CRIMINAL!”

Akihito glared up at him, his blue eyes sparkling with contempt. How could anyone really be this stupid?

Officer Takato stepped in, “Look, is there someone you could call? Friends, family members? Known associates of Takaba Akihito who could vouch for you?”

“I don’t have any family, but my friend Kou can tell you who I am!”

“Well, whats his number?”

Akihito shook his head in embarrassment. “I forgot my cellphone.”

Sakazaki barked with laughter, “Ha! Isn’t that convenient? Well, tell you what, I’m just going to let you sit right there until you DO remember.” He sneered at Akihito and walked away, barking at Takato not to let him go for any reason. Takato shrugged apologetically and Aki smiled back sadly. The poor boy had his hands still cuffed behind his back. His wrists were starting to ache and he needed to itch his nose. His tail bone was starting to dig into the hard plastic of the cheap chair he was sitting in. He shifted a bit and then his butt bones bit into the plastic. He actually wished he was a little fatter. A little extra cushioning would be nice right about now. 

He looked at the clock and sighed heavily. It was nearly ten in the morning. At this point, he was nearly three hours late to open the shop. With any luck one of his coworkers or Kou might call the police and hopefully, someone would figure out what had happened. 

Akihito noticed Sakazaki laughing at him with a large group of officers. He wouldn’t hold his breath though. Not with that dimwitted asshole around.

-

The hours ticked by slowly. Very slowly. The walls of interrogation room he had been left in were completely blank. White. With nothing but that slowly ticking clock to stare at. His hands were aching, his butt was aching and he really needed to pee.

Sometime around one in the afternoon, Sakazaki strolled back over with two other stern looking officers behind him. They were wearing different uniforms. Green instead of blue. He crossed his arms over his large chest and smirked at Akihito’s tired, pained expression.

“Ready to talk yet?”

Akihito's voice was dry and exhausted when he responded, enunciating each word slowly, “I told you the truth. I don’t know what else you want from me.”

“Well, here’s whats about to happen boy. If you can’t find someone to vouch for you, who can offer up some proof; these boys here are going to take you to jail. I may only be able to hold you for twenty four hours. But I will make it the worst twenty four hours of your life. I got a prisoner in there right now, Big Bill, and he would just LOVE to spend the night with a pretty boy like you.”

Akihito stared at him in horror. It was like something out of a bad movie. 

Sakazaki waited for an answer but when he got none, he snarled, “Fine. Boys? Take him away.”

And with that the other two officers grabbed the petite blond by his upper arms and hauled him away, practically dragging him out of the room as he tripped over his numb feet. His head was spinning. Was this really happening? It felt like a bad dream. There was only one way out of this. There was only one number in the world that Akihito knew by heart…

“Wait!” He cried frantically back to the police Sergeant, “WAIT!”

Sakazaki turned around with a triumphant smile, “Yes?”

“Can I make that phone call? Please?!”

They threw him in a tiny booth with a scuffed up black phone in it. Akihito drew a deep breath and held it the receiver in his hand, listening to the dial tone. He couldn’t believe he was going to call this number. It had been so long. A wave of emotion passed over him and he swayed a little, gripping onto the cheap table with white knuckles. 

Sergeant Sakazaki stared at him with his arms crossed, tapping his fingers impatiently. He barked at the boy, “Hurry up, haven’t got all day!”

Akihito pushed the buttons in a stupor. One after another, as if he had called it just the day before.

He held his breath as it rang. Once, then twice...then a third time…..

His eyes widened in horror, what if he didn’t pick up…. 

But on the fourth ring, a deep, familiar voice answered, “Hello?”

Akihito was silent for a moment, his eyes filling with relieved tears at the sound. He had forgotten the power that voice had over him. A feeling of warmth and security and the knowledge that everything was going to be ok washed over him. Akihito’s own voice quavered tremulously when he called out in answer, “A- Asami?”

-


	14. Chapter 14

They handcuffed him to one of the long benches next to the door. On the other side of the door there is another bench on which a fat, homeless man sleeping, his arm over his head and hiding most of his face. Aki assumes he is waiting there for transport to county and has likely been forgotten by all of the busy officers. He is curled up on his side and it was hard to tell how tall he is. He just kind of looks like a big blob. His large pale belly hung out over his pants, actually even hanging down off the bench towards the floor. His clothing was tattered and stained. His hair was the same dirty blond color Akihito’s used to be, it was long, matted and greasy. He was filthy and dirty and he smelled. God he smelled. Like sweat and urine and… rotting fruit? It was a very odd smell that Aki had never smelled before. Not pleasant at all.

It probably would have made most people feel better about themselves to see someone else in such a state. People loved to see others failings and tragedies as somehow a success on their part. Congratulating themselves that ‘Hey they might not be perfect but at least they aren’t that guy!’ But as for Aki? It broke his heart a little. He couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the man on the bench for him to let himself go that way? What tragedies had he been through that had led him to this point? Sleeping on a bench in a police station covered in his own filth….

And it made Akihito feel even more low because he was STILL shallow enough that he would have given anything to have a mirror just then. He knew he looked horrible, disheveled and tired and he hadn’t gotten to brush his teeth all day. If he could just have fixed his hair or something...

He wanted to put his head in his hands but one of them was cuffed to the fucking bench. Akihito pulled on it in frustration. It caused a loud rattling, clanking noise against the wood that caused one of the officers to look over at him in irritation and then he stopped. It was humiliating, absolutely humiliating. Even worse than the damn coffee shop. All that time he spent dreaming of how Asami and him might meet again. He was a wreck, looking like a mess, tired, possibly smelly and handcuffed to a bench in a police station. 

Perfect. 

Just perfect. 

Before he was ready, not fifteen minutes after he made the phone call, the two glass doors to the police station were thrown open. A tall man in a perfectly tailored three piece suit walked confidently through the doors. Akihito drew in a breath and held it, waiting for his eyes to fall on him. He was so gorgeous, so strong, his very presence just commanded authority. Akihito felt his fear fall away almost immediately. Several officers walked up to him but Asami hardly spared them a glance, his golden eyes swept over the police station, taking in every last detail. Flicking over the faces of each person as he searched for the one he was looking for. Akihito was still holding his breath, his heart racing in his chest as he waited for Asami to look at him. This time he was sure to recognize him… this time...

Finally, finally those golden eyes settled on him. They widened a little in recognition but then his eyes kept moving as if he was looking for someone else. Akihito frowned in confusion as Asami seemed to look right past him yet again. Swift steps taking him right past Akihito and over to the morbidly obese man sleeping on the bench. 

He bent low and placed his hand on the man’s arm, touched his dirty blond hair carefully and what little could be seen of his enormous, swollen cheeks. It took Akihito’s breath away, the look on Asami’s face. His golden eyes filling with warmth, tenderness, love and concern. Tears. Akihito blinked in astonishment at the wetness that filled Asami’s golden eyes. A tender kiss was pressed to the homeless man’s filthy temple. He was disgusting. Covered in dirt and sweat and god knows what else. He was morbidly obese, dressed in rags. The smell coming off of him was rank. Foul and enough to gag anyone.

But Asami didn’t seem to see any of that. His hands trembled as he stroked the sleeping man’s brow, pressing another kiss to his filthy brow, without hesitation. The love in his eyes and his actions was clear.

There was no disgust, no pity, no derision in his face. It was love. Only love.

Akihito drew a pained breath inwards as he finally, finally understood. 

What only seeing as an outsider would have shown him.

Asami had truly never cared what he looked like, what he wore, whether his teeth were straight or if his hair was perfect. He didn’t care if he was fat or thin. Asami hadn’t been with him for his looks, not his body or his hair or his smile or any of the superficial details. Asami loved him. HIM. The man inside the shell. The soul and the heart inside the body. Not his reflection. Never his reflection, just him.

And it was patently obvious, even all these years later, Asami still loved him.

Tears of joy and sadness filled Akihito’s lovely blue eyes as he watched powerful emotions flicker across Asami’s face. As he realized the horrible mistake he had made so long ago.

“Asami?” He called, reaching his hand towards him just as the door to the police station slammed open again, covering the sound of his voice.

Sudoh walked in; screeching about how much it was going to cost to fix his car, waving papers and then froze as soon as he saw Asami. His high, piercing voice immediately takes on a flirtatious, dulcet tone as he rushed over, “Why Asami, are you here for me? You heard about my terrible accident?”

He fluttered his eyelashes and it gave Akihito the creeps.

Asami’s eyes go cold immediately. In fact, the change that comes over him is striking. Like ice freezing. He seems so hard now. Somehow… Akihito feels as if Asami can see inside the beautiful model, that he can see the ugliness inside and reacts accordingly. His lip curls in derision and he shakes his head, his eyes going back to the man on the bench. He pulls out a cellphone and Akihito can hear him speaking quietly with Kirishima, making arrangements with the nicest hospital in Tokyo and Asami’s own personal physician.

Sudoh’s beautiful aquamarine eyes look on in confusion as Asami’s face and hands go soft again, gently stroking the filthy wreck of a human being beneath them as if he is the most important thing in the world. He leans down murmuring into the man’s ear and Akihito somehow feels as if its his own ear Asami is speaking to. He can feel the love even from across the room.

And finally, as Sudoh watches Asami’s face take on an expression that he knows it will NEVER have when he looks at him; his beautiful facade breaks and his lips curl into an ugly snarl, “What the fuck is that THING?”

Asami moves to stand in front of the homeless man, as if shielding him from those cruel, mocking eyes, “Get the hell away from him Sudoh.”

Aki can see that Sudoh truly, truly doesn’t understand. And he actually feels sorry for him. Years of anger and jealousy finally come out and the model blurts his thoughts without thinking, “Its like some sort of kink of yours, isn’t it? A fat fetish. You prance around with those actresses and models on your arm for show, but what really gets your motor running is a jiggly fatty isn’t it? Like that boy, that ‘Akihito’, you used to parade around with. That wimpy, pathetic, snaggletoothed lardass…..”

The crack of Asami’s fist smashing Sudoh’s perfect nose rang loud throughout the busy police station.

Sakazaki and some of the officers come running over. Sakazaki hesitates and Aki can tell he really, really wants to book Asami on assault charges. But even he isn’t that stupid. Nobody would dare put handcuffs on Asami Ryuichi. The best they can do is hold a rag to Sudoh’s bleeding face, prop his head up with a pillow and call another ambulance for him. 

At this point, the ambulance Asami called for the obese man is there and Asami and the man on the bench disappear into a flurry of EMTs. The homeless man is conscious now, looking around in confusion and speaking gibberish. It takes all of them to lift the man’s enormous bulk onto the stretcher and wheel him outside. Asami stays at the head of the stretcher, murmuring to the man comfortingly, stroking his temples as the filthy blond man looks up at him with utter confusion in his blue eyes. 

It is only as he passes Akihito’s bench that Aki finally has a chance to catch his attention. His tiny hand reaches out and grabs back of his suitcoat. Asami turns around in irritation, his golden eyes relenting a little when he sees the young blond with frightened blue eyes still handcuffed to the bench.

“I’m sorry son, I can’t….” 

“No, Asami. Its me. Takaba….”

“Aki…”

Asami stares down at him wonderingly, his eyes flick back to the man being loaded into the ambulance and then he stares back at Akihito. He bends down on one knee and stares into Akihito’s blue eyes, the doubt slowly fading from his golden eyes until they are glowing with love and pride.

Large hands cup his small face and stroke his cheeks lovingly, the same way he had touched the homeless man. Akihito closed his eyes and leaned into Asami’s touch, shivering with emotion, feeling as if he has finally come home.

His voice is gentle, so gentle you could hardly imagine it coming from a man like Asami who is capable of such hardness…. and when called for, such softness, “Akihito, you’ve changed so much, My god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even recognize you… what happened baby? Are you alright?”

Aki nodded, his throat was still too tight to speak. Asami’s golden eyes traveled over Akihito’s body as if trying to relearn his curves. He takes in Akihito’s almost bony figure with concern, “Fuck, you’re so beautiful…. but so thin. Have you been eating enough? Are you hungry?”

At that, Akihito just laughs and suddenly Asami laughs too. His heart feels so full it might burst. He reaches for Asami with his free hand and pulls him close enough to kiss, his full lips parted in a warm smile, “No, no I’m not hungry. Not anymore.”

-


	15. Chapter 15

_One year later_

It’s their anniversary. Their REAL anniversary Akihito thinks to himself. One year since Asami came to pick him up at the police station, punching Sudoh, then Sakazaki when he wouldn’t release him, breaking the arm off the bench and carrying him off in the sunset.

Well, kind of. 

Asami always did have a flare for the dramatic. And that’s all true, except for the sunset part. 

He did punch Sergeant Sakazaki for being an idiot and he did nearly destroy the flimsy wooden bench when he wasn’t given keys to Aki’s handcuffs fast enough and he did carry Akihito out of there. They spent the rest of the day just walking aimlessly and talking. Akihito explained the last two years and why he left, what he did after he went away and how sorry he was for everything. 

And Asami, being the incredible man he is, is completely understanding, completely forgiving. And to Akihito’s horror, only then, does he learn that Asami has actually blamed himself all these years, for not standing up for him, for not telling him how very very much he is loved. The quiet man talked more in those hours than he did all the time they were together. They finally realize that all of this could have been avoided if they had only TOLD each other how they felt. Amidst tears of both sorrow and joy, they vow to never make that mistake again. And to make up for lost time.

Every single day for the past year, he has not only shown it in every way possible, but he says it. All the time. Never letting Akihito doubt it for a moment. And Aki never gets tired of hearing it. 

Akihito never gets tired of telling him how much he is loved either. But somehow it doesn’t feel like enough. Words just can’t express what Asami means to him. His heart feels like it will burst open every day. Every time he looks at him. He just feels…. complete.

Akihito smiled at his reflection and touches the rings in his pocket for the hundredth time today.

He should check with Suoh and make sure all the arrangements for tonight are complete. He has been helping Aki conceal his plans from Asami. Suoh took the day off too, for a similar reason. He lives in the same building as them, a few floors down. Only fitting since he is now Asami’s head of security. 

Akihito took the elevator down and knocked on his door, Suoh was on the phone but he nodded his giant head and let Akihito inside. Aki went into the kitchen and made some tea. The reason he was so at home in Suoh’s apartment was because they were very, very good friends. The big man is quite unrecognizable from the man on the bench a year ago

The homeless man’s name was Suoh Kazumi. And it turns out the erratic behavior that resulted in his arrest was due to diabetic ketoacidosis. And he was not sleeping on the bench, he was two steps away from a diabetic coma. All the result of undiagnosed Type II diabetes and a thyroid condition. Asami saved his life.

With proper medical treatment and Akihito taking over as his nutritionist, the decorated war veteran has become an entirely different person, nearly identical to the man he was once, and its absurd to think that he could ever have been mistaken for Akihito. He wears his blond hair cropped short like a soldier and his massive build is now evident without the layers of fat encasing it. He is intensely, rabidly loyal to Asami, and Akihito as well. Aki knows he has nothing to worry about when it comes to Asami, not with Kirishima on his right and Suoh on his left.

He smiled when Suoh hung up the phone and the way he nods militarily, “We are go for tonight Akihito.”

His smile broadened at the use of his informal name, it had taken him nearly 8 months to get Suoh to quit calling him Takaba-san. 

“AAAAAKI-CHAAAAN!!!!”

Akihito grins at the high shrill voice of one of his other best friends as the other tall blond man comes running out of the bedroom when he hears Akihito’s name. Suoh’s live in partner. It just so happens to be their anniversary too.

Sudoh threw his arms around Akihito’s slight figure and swung him around the kitchen exuberantly, before letting him down and stepping back to nuzzle Suoh’s muscular shoulder. Aki can’t help but be reminded of a kitten looking for affection. Sudoh is still somewhat high maintenance, but Akihito can tell Suoh doesn’t mind at all as he throws his arm around Sudoh’s slender shoulders and squeezes him back.

Akihito can’t help but marvel at him as well. Unrecognizable and yet somehow more beautiful than ever in his joy and self acceptance. The damage from Asami’s punch was extensive, far more extensive than Asami had ever intended to inflict on him. But thats the thing about the human face, it is made up of hundreds of fragile bones, all intimately connected like puzzle pieces and you can never be sure exactly what is going to happen when it takes a hard hit. When Asami’s fist connected with Sudoh’s nose, he also caused bilateral blow out fractures to Sudoh’s orbits, the swelling and stress on the eyes resulted in bilateral retinal detachments. After the surgery, the model spent several weeks in the hospital with both eyes covered to protect them and allow the retina, extraocular muscles and ligaments to rest and heal. He was an utterly insufferable patient. Bitching and whining that he deserved a private room…. but in the end, the only thing that got him through the ordeal was the calm, soothing voice of the man in the hospital bed next to him.

By the time the bandages came off, he was so in love with the voice and the man behind it, he couldn’t have cared less what Suoh actually looked like. 

Sadly, Sudoh’s physical journey was not through, because over time the cartilage supporting the bridge of his nose atrophied from the damage to the blood vessels resulting in a nasal bridge collapse. It was an incredibly disfiguring defect and Sudoh’s modeling days were over for good.

But he didn’t seem to miss them at all. In fact, Asami had offered time and time again to pay for the plastic surgery to fix his nose but he refused. Akihito thought he was punishing himself for the wrong he had done, the two years he had stolen from Asami and Akihito. But one day, over cappuccinos, he had finally explained it to Akihito.

Sudoh said to him, “If the world were fair, beautiful faces would belong to beautiful people. It would be like in the stories; good people with kind hearts and clever minds would always have beautiful faces and bright smiles, and bad people would be pockmarked with warts, crooked noses and hunchbacks. That way you could always know immediately what you were dealing with. But this is not a fair world. And many bad people are shockingly beautiful, and many wonderful people are horribly ugly. What use is being beautiful on the outside when you are ugly on the inside? I want to be as beautiful inside as I once was outside. And I don’t want to get distracted by the reflection in the mirror anymore.”

And then Sudoh had smiled at him and Akihito had thought to himself that Sudoh had never looked more beautiful than he did in that moment. With a crushed nose and peace and love shining in his gorgeous blue green eyes. And Akihito realized that all the man ever really needed was to be loved for something deeper than skin and that he had finally found what he was looking for all along in Suoh. Strong, stoic Suoh.

Sudoh jolted Akihito out of his musings, clapping his hands excitedly, “Are you ready for tonight?”

Akihito pulled out the box from his pocket and showed them the rings, Sudoh, of course, had already seen them because he had exquisite taste in jewelry and had helped Aki design them but Suoh had never seen them before. The big man whistled low in surprise, “Damn!”

Akihito bit his lip in concern, “Too much?”  


Sudoh glared at Suoh as he shook his head, “No, its perfect. I wouldn’t have imagined Asami-san wearing jewelry to be honest, but that, I think suits him perfectly.”

Akihito smiled in relief and at that, Sudoh beamed. They really were gorgeous rings, two platinum bands, one small, one large, both engraved with the Asami crest. He snapped the box closed and stuck it back in his pocket. Feeling suddenly nervous. 

Sudoh smiles at him and retrieves a gift bag from the counter, “For tonight” is all he offers as explanation and suddenly Akihito feels guilty as he takes the bag from him.

“But I didn’t get you anything!”

Sudoh and Suoh both look at him in amusement and then back at each other. Still gazing up at his lover, Sudoh murmurs softly, “You gave us everything Akihito. Everything.” And with that, their lips meet and Akihito is pretty sure they don’t even notice when he slips quietly out the door. 

-


	16. Chapter 16

Asami opened the door quietly and slipped inside, toeing his shoes off. He smiled, inhaling deeply at the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen. Listening to the sweet voice that was humming off key. He paused with his eyes closed; just enjoying the moment, before setting down his briefcase and loosening his tie. 

He finally had everything he needed. The beautiful boy was finally back in his kitchen. His house was a home again; was filled with warmth and laughter and love. His home had come back to him.

Asami Ryuichi walked silently into the kitchen and stayed back in the shadows of the hall where Aki wouldn’t notice him so he could watch him cook. He did it a lot. Akihito would catch watching him sometimes, get beautifully flustered and call him a creeper, but Asami just couldn’t help himself. He never got tired of looking at him while he thought he was alone. He loved the way Akihito moved, the bow of his slender neck and back as he looked down, the faint smile that always seemed to hover on his lips, the way he sometimes talked to himself as he tasted different things. The way his nose wrinkle if it was bad. And the way his eyes twinkled when it was good. Akihito still loved food, he loved to eat and he loved to cook. But he was smart about it now. He knew more than most college educated nutritionists. And he had done it on his own. Asami was so fucking proud of all he had accomplished, it hurt his chest when he thought about it.

He was a little ashamed to admit, he had expected the worst. He had laid awake night after night; picturing all sorts of horrible things befalling his lovely, innocent boy until it had nearly driven him mad. And then when forced to face the reality that Akihito had blossomed without him, he had been unable to see it. He still couldn’t believe he had actually chased the boy down and not known it was him immediately. He just had this picture of the old chubby Akihito in his head, to the point he couldn’t imagine him as anything but fat. 

Seeing him so thin and beautiful was incredible, astounding and thrilling. But what was better was seeing him as he was now. Not thin, not fat, but healthy, glowing with strength and confidence. Akihito was Akihito and he had always been beautiful in Asami’s eyes, but he had shed the cocoon of his insecurities and had emerged as this gorgeous, confident butterfly. And just looking at him now, well it was like simultaneously taking a knee to the gut, getting hit by lightening and cumming in his pants. 

He was that fucking hot. 

And smart. 

Jesus H. Christ, the boy was brilliant and insanely talented. 

He still couldn’t believe it. Akihito was rich. Rich with a capital R. And he had made it all on his own. The day they reunited, they had been walking in the park when Akihito told him he was one of the founders of Chef-To-Go and Asami had tripped and nearly fallen in the fountain. He just couldn’t believe it. The insanely popular chain whose food Asami and half of Shinjuku ate every night. The company he and Kirishima had been so impressed by that they had approved a massive loan to expand their operations overseas… was partly Takaba Akihito’s brain child. He had no idea when he approved the loan it had anything to do with Akihito. Asami simply knew a great idea and sound investment when he saw it.

Akihito had truly done it all on his own. 

He had not even needed the money Asami had been holding for him. But he did use it. He started a cooking school. A revolutionary culinary institute that emphasized good nutrition just as heavily as good taste. Akihito’s motto was simple; food should be good inside and out. 

Beautiful. Inside and out.

That was his boy. 

Asami put his hand in his pocket for the hundredth time today, touching the ringbox inside it. He knew Akihito had something special planned for their anniversary and he didn’t want to ruin his surprise…. but he had a surprise of his own. 

He loved Akihito more than life. He was the light to his dark. The soft to his hard. His home. Akihito was his everything. His one true joy. And Asami wanted to make sure he always would be. 

So, to borrow the expression, he was going to put a ring on it. 

He smiled again, a stupid lovesick grin that nobody else was allowed to see. Nobody but Takaba. 

Asami walked quietly up behind him and nuzzled the soft skin of his neck, nibbling it a little with his teeth like Akihito was dessert and Asami was craving sweets. He smelled edible, like peaches and salt and summer and hope. 

“Have I told you how beautiful you are today? How much I love you?”

Akihito moaned in response and arched his back against Asami. The older man’s hands had already worked their way under his “Kiss The Cook” apron and down the front of his shorts. Asami’s movements were generally slow and controlled, but he was quick when he wanted to be. He stroked his fingers over those delicate hipbones and tickled the super sensitive flesh on the way down to his goal. Akihito’s skin always felt like hot silk. Impossibly soft.

He stopped just shy of Akihito’s groin and the boy bucked his hips in disappointment. Asami grinned and reached over to turn off the oven and the burners before pushing Aki face first up against the cold fridge. He slid the handcuffs out of his suit pocket and drew Akihito’s hands behind his back. Aki looked at him in confusion but submitted trustingly. His wrists looked so delicate and Asami admired the gentle curve of his waist and the tight muscles that bunched in his shoulders as his lean arms were pulled closer so he could fasten the handcuffs. He was strong and athletic and yet, still rounded and soft in all the right places. Asami bit his neck as a warning to keep him from trying to squirm away and cuffed his hands behind his back. Akihito protested then, trying to look behind him, “Asami what-”

Asami purred into his ear, “You’re under arrest….. for driving me crazy”

Akikhito groaned and shook his head disparagingly, “You did NOT just say that.”

Asami’s teeth tugged on his ear continuing to taunt and tease him, “It ought to be illegal. The way you look in those jeans. The way your skin just begs to be marked. The way your ass just taunts me day and night.”

He pressed his pointer finger to Akihito’s slit, rubbing the hard length of him and circling the tip, collecting the moisture and wetting his finger. He switched hands and began stroking Aki’s throbbing little penis with his other hand, using the finger that was soaked with his juices to circle his anus, closer and closer, until he involuntarily clenched as Asami pressed against his crinkled entrance. The cuffs around his wrists kept him from trying to push Asami’s hands away and struggling like he was prone to do. It was almost as if the bondage brought out a submissive side to his boy. Or maybe it was the dirty talk. Asami decided it was probably both and decided this would definitely not be the last time he tied Aki up.

“It is criminal, the way you invade my thoughts night day. My naughty little jailbird. I just want to cuff you to my bed, lock you up and throw away the key. I want you to be mine. Forever.”

“Oh Asami….” Akihito’s voice was thick and breathless and then he pushed back against Asami’s finger, his ass opening up, soft and pliable under his fingertip. He pressed just a bit, so that his finger just started to penetrate him, just pushing against that tight ring of muscle. He lingered there, pressing and swirling his fingertip just outside his entrance until it was wet and pliable. Rubbing Aki’s cock and his ass at the same time, Asami stared at his beautiful face in profile. The ways his long lashes drooped and his precious cheeks blushed. Just watching him flush in arousal made the older man completely lose his legendary iron control. Akihito made Asami feel like an untried boy about to cum in his pants. The boy was helpless against him; under attack from front and rear and moaned helplessly, lighting a fire in Asami’s groin and he thrust his finger forward, that tight ring giving way and then drawing him in. The quivering of his muscles made it almost feel as if his sweet asshole was a tiny mouth; suckling on Asami’s finger. He could feel the tremble in that gorgeous body, the quaking starting in his delicious thighs and knew Akihito was close.

But Takaba Akihito was a delicious five course meal that deserved to be eaten on a table; relished and savored. He was haute cuisine and you don’t eat a fine meal like that standing up in front of the fridge.

Asami untied his apron, rucked his tanktop under his arms and pulled his pants down before he picked him up bodily and carried him to the dining room table. One end of the enormous rosewood table was set beautifully, with white roses and candles and Aki’s favorite Blue Willow china. Asami’s golden eyes glowed as he noticed the care and attention to detail Akihito had put in setting the table. For him. 

His heart felt like it would burst as he set his mouthwatering meal down on the clear end of the table.

Akihito’s blue eyes were dark and full of desire, his full pink lips parted like plump ripe berries. His arms were still cuffed behind his back, thrusting his bright, cherry like nipples forward and then between his milky thighs, his luscious pink cock was oozing thick juices that tempted Asami’s tongue. He couldn’t decide which delicacy to try first. Aki was like a banquet and Asami was always starving. Asami plopped down in the chair, he was eye level with the deliciousness between Akihito’s widespread legs and practically drooling. 

Aki squirmed self consciously, keening with need in his throat, his plump little bottom wiggling on the hard wood, his cock trembling and Asami finally realized he was staring at him like a man possessed. 

His cheeks blushed pink with embarrassment and Asami smirked. As beautiful as he was, he would never be a show off. The boy didn’t have a vain bone in his body. He stood again and towered over him, invading his space until Akihito leaned backwards on his hands, the cuffs clanking on the table a little.

“What should I start with my love?”

He nibbled the boy’s full lower lip, “Appetizer?”

Akihito moaned needfully and Asami moved down to his hard nipples, rolling one between his fingers and the other between his teeth, murmuring, “Palate cleanser?”

Akihito’s eyelids drooped to halfmast as he shook his head.

“Main course?” Asami suggested, his warm breath teasing the inside of Akihito’s thighs before he ran his tongue up the underside of his cock and lapped the droplets from his slit.

That blond head shook ‘No’ again, more desperately, biting his lip and Asami’s golden eyes flared, his voice was hoarse with power and pleasure, grunting, “Dessert it is then”

He rolled Aki over onto his stomach gently, letting his shapely legs dangle off the table. He grabbed handfuls of that curvaceous ass, loving the way they felt in his palms. Asami leaned over to plant a kiss on both succulent white mounds and continued to gently knead the supple flesh with his hands as he spread them wide apart. Exposing his pretty pink, delectable little rosebud. 

Asami licked his lips.

He certainly didn’t mind starting his meal with dessert first.

He felt overwhelmed with lust for this beautiful boy, the sexy creature lying belly down, all curves and tight muscles and soft flesh. He placed his hands on Aki’s cheeks and used his thumbs to slowly pull them farther apart. Moving back to the top of his crack, he kissed downward, pausing to lightly lick, then resuming the kisses. Until he reached his prize, slowly circled Aki’s anus with his tongue and then dipping into it, lightly moistening it. The gentle swirls went on for a long time, Akihito’s moans and pleas growing steadily louder and more urgent as he continued to tease him, pushing his hips up and back, trying to take Asami’s tongue into his velvety softness. His ring was soft and yielding, clutching at Asami’s tongue as if it was hungry and craving more. And Asami had more to give it.

A lot more.

He plucked a bottle of lube from his pocket, and reached between Akihito’s lovely white buttcheeks, and used a thumb and index finger to pry open the soft edges of his cute, pink rosebud. When he placed the open neck against the small hole being created, Akihito started squirming as Asami squirted cool, oily liquid into his ass. He slid his long middle finger in to smear the oil around and tickle his prostate as he slicked his own cock with more of the lubricant.

Still using the same fingers to hold open the tiny hole they had created, he held his cock in the other hand to guide it. When he felt the head against the puckered hole that was his goal, he rubbed the tip against it while Akihito shivered in his excitement. When it was perfectly centered, he pushed firmly forward, and felt the head wedge through the ring of muscles and into the slick channel beyond.

Akihito grunted in pain but his lithe body squirmed, his hips begging for more, so Asami gave another firm thrust, driving more of his cock into Akihito's ass and evoking a inelegant grunt. He grinned and on the next stroke made sure to press into Akihito's prostate gland, dragging the head of his cock across it. The beautiful blond started to unravel, his hips started swiveling, his hands twisting in their bonds and he kicked his legs out and back, behind him, as if trying hook them around Asami and to pull him in deeper. 

“Oh, oh, oh! Please, more Asami! More!”

With the next thrust, he pulled back and drove his cock almost all the way in, earning whimpers of ecstasy from Akihito. With one more thrust, his cock was all the way in, and he could feel his groin brushing against the soft insides of Akihito's cheeks. He remained in that position for a few minutes, reveling in twitching of Akihito’s spasming inner muscles as they tried to accommodate the massive girth that was now crammed up inside his tiny rectum. Then he pulled back out, slowly, savoring the resistance of those same tight muscles as they clutched at his cock. 

Once again he paused, this time for just a few seconds with the head of his cock still inside the ring of muscle at the entrance to Akihito's ass, before driving the entire length back inside roughly. When the end raked across his little lover’s sweet spot Akihito's whole body spasmed. His face was on the table and he was moaning and whimpering inarticulately. Asami grinned, held those slender hips tightly and began fucking him in earnest.

Asami was in a state of pure bliss as he drove his shaft in and out of the tight ass that was giving and receiving so much pleasure. Every pleasure filled sound that Akihito made launched ripples of joy that swirled from Asami's cock throughout his body. He still wasn’t going fast enough for Akihito to come though. He continued to make long and slow and deep strokes into Akihito's ass, and his lovely boy's movements became wilder by the minute. His legs were kicking back and forth behind him in protest as he cried out. Usually, he would have tried to get onto his knees so he could fuck back to meet the cock plowing in and out of his ass, but with his arms handcuffed behind him, he was helpless and at Asami’s mercy. 

With every movement Asami made, Akihito's cock stroked forward and back against the slick wood, combined with the long, thick shaft ramming in and out of his ass; it had brought Akihito closer and closer to the verge of an orgasm, driving him slowly insane.

He whimpered pitifully, “Asami please, oh please…. I need you. Oh God, I’m so full, I need to…”

Asami jerked his hips back in response, impaling him hard on his cock.

“What baby? What do you need?

“Oh God, I need to come, please let me come!!”

Asami snarled ferally, done teasing. He rammed his cock in and out of Akihito's ass and making his small body move forward and back on the slick surface. He reached around and jacked his shaft. Almost immediately, Akihito’s entire body tensed up like a bowstring and semen spurted from his cock onto the table beneath him, but Asami didn’t stop. He continued to milk him, making him ejaculate again and again before he was through with his orgasm. As Akihito’s insides rippled, he felt his own climax well up inside his balls and explode. Akihito's clenching asshole almost milked the ejaculation out of him forcefully. Behind his eyelids, Asami saw fireworks.

Afterwards, the large man slumped down over the smaller boy, propped up on his elbows, his forehead resting on Aki, with his cock remaining embedded in his lover's ass until it softened and slipped out. Poor Akihito was too tired to even move so Asami cleaned him up with one of their nicest linen napkins. Ignoring his protests, Asami perched the boy still nearly naked on his lap, still handcuffed and fed him the delicious dinner he had cooked. 

It was the perfect meal. Exactly what he had been craving.

Afterwards Asami was hungry for dessert again but Akihito was having none of it and Asami was finally forced to uncuff him. Akihito wanted to put on the yukatas Sudoh gave them and sit outside on the balcony. Asami arched his eyebrow wondering if somehow Aki had found out about about his surprise. But it wasn’t possible. And it was a lovely night. 

Asami never cared much for yukatas, too loose and flowing. He preferred clothing with more structure. But he cooperated as he found himself eager to see Akihito in the lovely silver and blue embroidered one Sudoh had bought for him. Asami’s was much plainer and he liked it that way. A simple navy blue. 

Which luckily had pockets hidden in the folds. Asami slipped the ringbox inside while Aki was distracted trying to figure out how to tie his obi.

“Let me”

Akihito looked up at him in surprise, his eyes widened even more as Asami looped the obi around and around his waist, tying it expertly in a big fluffy butterfly bow in the back. It was more a style for women, but it suited Akihito’s soft beauty perfectly and accentuated his small waist. He did his own in a more dignified, flat Kaki-Obi knot that rode a little lower on the hips. 

Akihito smiled, “Is there anything you can’t do and perfectly?”

Asami looked at him seriously, “Live without you.”

Akihito gasped and then jumped as the first firework exploded outside, off the balcony. Asami’s eyes flicked to the clock. They were a little early. He scooped Akihito up and carried him out onto the balcony, settling him into his lap again on top of a bamboo recliner. Aki curled up, happy for the extra warmth, summer was just beginning and it was still rather cold in the evening. Asami trapped his feet between his legs to keep them warm as those blue eyes stared wonderingly up at the night sky.

He watched as red and green, blue and yellow chrysanthemums blossomed over downtown Shinjuku. Their brilliance was reflected in the glassy surfaces of all of the adjacent buildings. The many reflections making it seem as if there were fireworks exploding all around them. 

Akihito spoke, breathlessly, “Did YOU do this?”

Asami kissed his ear in answer, pressing his own cheek to Akihito’s soft one. For a long time they both watched, enraptured, but slowly their eyes met and Asami looked at him for a long time. For Asami, there was only one reflection of himself that had ever mattered. The way he looked in those big blue eyes. Akihito looked at him as if he had hung the moon. 

And please God, may he always.

Asami laid his head down peacefully in the soft pillow of Akihito’s pale shoulder, biting it gently as his lover moaned. He inhaled deeply, breathing in his distinctive clean scent, that alluring scent that surprised him in its soft strength every time. He curled up next to him, smaller, compact, fitting inside the circle of Asami’s arms perfectly. They murmured to one another, talking about everything and nothing at all; both with their heads turned up to follow the small lights shooting upwards. Over and over, brilliantly, the lights expanded, turning into brilliant hues of color reflected on all the faces turned upwards to watch them. Smiling as the bright colors slowly slid off the sky, only to be replaced by more, each explosion feeling somehow more bright and vivid than the last. 

The fireworks show had been going on for about 30 minutes and he knew it was almost to come to the end. Two huge red shells exploded then four red ones joined in. Exploding into heart shapes. Five more white bombs added their sparks, in bright rings around the hearts and he knew it was the grand finale. Asami’s hand slipped into his pocket and bumped with Akihito, who was reaching down into his own pocket. They both withdrew, somewhat awkwardly and Asami’s eyes widened in sync with Akihito’s as each realized what the other was holding.

The buzzing of a plane grew closer and closer distracted them and Asami watched it approach from the south. It was towing a banner. He frowned in confusion. That was not something he had planned. Perhaps Kirishima had taken some artistic liberties.

But a knowing smile was growing on Akihito’s face and he kept peeking up at Asami as if waiting for some kind of reaction…..

The plane grew closer and closer, the buzz turned into a roar, the giant white banner brilliant in the night, gleaming until it was finally close enough to read, practically buzzing the apartment building. Asami smirked. There was a familiar square blond head in the pilot’s seat, with a military buzzcut. Another smaller blond man waved enthusiastically from the passenger seat.

The banner was all in caps, shouting to the world, “ASAMI RYUICHI, WILL YOU MARRY ME?”

Asami just threw his head back and laughed. He laughed and he laughed and he laughed, deep in his belly with his whole body shaking and poor Akihito bouncing in his lap. The plane looped and came back down and around, circling the building again and again. Akihito had beaten him to the punchline. He laughed until his sides hurt and then finally, finally when he could laugh no more he dropped the box he was holding and cupped Akihito’s precious face in his hands and kissed him over and over again until the boy was breathless and the plane finally buzzed off into the night. 

When he finally pulled back, he could tell from the way he was reflected in those adoring blue eyes, that no words were necessary. As Akihito slipped the ring on his finger, Asami smiled, his mind falling back to the blue lovebirds soaring above the weeping willow. Even though he still couldn’t remember the story, he somehow knew it had a happy ending, one filled with fireworks

-

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